MUSINGS FROM THE DISCH
Whew. What a week we had. After an embarrassing debacle last Tuesday against UTRGV, the Horns bounced back to win a series against TCU, keeping the hopes of NCAA post season play alive.
On Friday night, TCU ace Payton Tolle did what staff aces do and shut down the Horns offense for 7 innings, backed by a scoreless inning from relivers Hunter Hodges and Ben Abeldt, winning 5-0.
Following the established blueprint, the Horns won on Saturday on the back of an outstanding performance from starter Ace Whitehead, shutting out TCU 7-0.
After back to back shutouts, no one knew what to expect from Sunday, as Texas rolled out the maligned Lebarron Johnson Jr and TCU rolled out the lanky freshman Mason Bixby. Thankfully, the Horns got an outstanding performance from LBJ and Gage Boehm to win the game 2-1, which saw all three runs scored in the 2nd inning.
The bad news is that the series win did not do much for the Horns RPI (72), but the good news is that the Horns still are in a position to make the NCAA tourney and are now tied for 2nd place with West Virginia and Oklahoma State.
Where the Horns go from here is anyone's guess, but one thing fans should be accustomed to is being comfortable in an uncomfortable situation. The Horns are far too inconsistent to predict what they will do on a day to day basis, but have some great opportunities ahead as Big 12 leading Oklahoma is up next on the road.
USELESS STAT(S) OF THE DAY
MID-WEEK PREVIEW
Opponent: UT-Arlington (17-23, 12-9 Western Athletic)
Date: Tuesday April 23rd
Time: 630pm
Where: Disch-Falk Field (Austin)
TV: Longhorn Network
History:
Prediction:
Texas wins the Tuesday night game 7-5
Season Prediction Update:
On the season, I am 28-13 with my predictions
Rank: n/a
RPI: 142
SOS: 95
UTA Quadrant Records (RPI):
Q1: 1-6
Q2: 5-5
Q3: 5-8
Q4: 6-4
Home: 8-10
Away: 9-13
Neutral: 0-0
Common Opponents:
Stats Comparison:
Pitching Matchups: (will notate matchups once announced):
UTA Offensive Leaders:
UTA Bullpen Leaders:
BIG 12 RECAP
BIG 12 CONFERENCE STANDINGS (conference record)
BIG 12 RPI / SOS
Horns RPI remains an issue when looking ahead at potential post season play.
Horns do still have the remaining RPI teams to play: Oklahoma (22), Oklahoma State (25), UCF (27), Kansas (87)
TOP 25 RANKINGS
Reminder
As a reminder, the Longhorns are winding down the NIL fiscal year for baseball and the Longhorns are going to drastically ramp up funding efforts for Texas Baseball as it enters the SEC in 2025.
A monthly donation of $20-$100 a month makes a big difference in baseball. This is not football that has massive contracts and full scholarships for all the players. If you currently support a different sport through Texas One Fund, consider adding even $5-$10 for baseball.
If you have any questions, reach out to @AgaveHorn
Whew. What a week we had. After an embarrassing debacle last Tuesday against UTRGV, the Horns bounced back to win a series against TCU, keeping the hopes of NCAA post season play alive.
On Friday night, TCU ace Payton Tolle did what staff aces do and shut down the Horns offense for 7 innings, backed by a scoreless inning from relivers Hunter Hodges and Ben Abeldt, winning 5-0.
Following the established blueprint, the Horns won on Saturday on the back of an outstanding performance from starter Ace Whitehead, shutting out TCU 7-0.
After back to back shutouts, no one knew what to expect from Sunday, as Texas rolled out the maligned Lebarron Johnson Jr and TCU rolled out the lanky freshman Mason Bixby. Thankfully, the Horns got an outstanding performance from LBJ and Gage Boehm to win the game 2-1, which saw all three runs scored in the 2nd inning.
The bad news is that the series win did not do much for the Horns RPI (72), but the good news is that the Horns still are in a position to make the NCAA tourney and are now tied for 2nd place with West Virginia and Oklahoma State.
Where the Horns go from here is anyone's guess, but one thing fans should be accustomed to is being comfortable in an uncomfortable situation. The Horns are far too inconsistent to predict what they will do on a day to day basis, but have some great opportunities ahead as Big 12 leading Oklahoma is up next on the road.
USELESS STAT(S) OF THE DAY
- Batting - Horns rank 6th in the Big 12
- Pitching - Horns rank 6th in the Big 12
- Fielding - Horns rank 3rd in the Big 12
- Hitting Average: Jared Thomas (6th)
- Slugging%: Jalin Flores (3rd), Max Belyeu (4th), and Jared Thomas (6th)
- OPS: Max Belyeu (3rd), Jared Thomas (7th)
- Hits: Jared Thomas (2nd), Jalin Flores (5th), and Peyton Powell (9th)
- Home Runs: Jalin Flores (1st), Max Belyeu (3rd), and Jared Thomas (5th)
- Stolen Bases: Jared Thomas (8th)
- ERA: Ace Whitehead (6th) and Max Grubbs (10th)
- Strikeouts: Lebarron Johnson Jr (9th)
- Saves: Gage Boehm (6th)
- Hits Allowed: Ace Whitehead (4th)
- Runs Allowed: Ace Whitehead (2nd) and Max Grubbs (10th)
- Wild Pitches: Lebarron Johnson Jr (1st)
MID-WEEK PREVIEW
Opponent: UT-Arlington (17-23, 12-9 Western Athletic)
Date: Tuesday April 23rd
Time: 630pm
Where: Disch-Falk Field (Austin)
TV: Longhorn Network
History:
- First met 1981
- Texas leads all-time series 58-18
- Horns are 57-17 at home
- Last loss to UTA – 2015
- Let met in 2023 – Horns won 10-5
- Under David Pierce, Horns are 2-0 against UTA (2017 & 2023)
- UTA is coached by Clay Van Hook
- 7th head coach of UTA
- Previously was assistant coach for OU
- Prior to OU, Clay was an assistant at Rice
- Clay started as an student assistant coach at Texas in 2008
- Clay played one season at Navarro College before transferring to Texas, where he was a three-year letterman (2005-2007). He also was part of the 2005 national championship team
Prediction:
Texas wins the Tuesday night game 7-5
Season Prediction Update:
On the season, I am 28-13 with my predictions
Rank: n/a
RPI: 142
SOS: 95
UTA Quadrant Records (RPI):
Q1: 1-6
Q2: 5-5
Q3: 5-8
Q4: 6-4
Home: 8-10
Away: 9-13
Neutral: 0-0
Common Opponents:
- Texas Tech: Loss
- Sam Houston: Loss
- Oklahoma: Loss / Loss
- Abilene Christian: Lost series 1-2
- TCU: Loss & Won
- UTRGV: Lost series 1-2
- Baylor: Loss
Stats Comparison:
| Stat | Texas | UTA |
| Batting Average | .289 | .259 |
| OPS | .899 | .722 |
| Doubles | 95 | 74 |
| Triples | 6 | 3 |
| Home Runs | 75 | 25 |
| RBI | 277 | 208 |
| SLG% | .522 | .374 |
| Walks | 166 | 158 |
| Strikeouts | 387 | 323 |
| OB% | .377 | .348 |
| Stolen Bases | 32-40 | 15-21 |
| ERA | 4.87 | 5.01 |
| WHIP | 1.47 | 1.47 |
| Bases on Balls | 172 | 107 |
| Strikeouts | 338 | 237 |
| Wild Pitches | 38 | 24 |
| B/Avg | .263 | .289 |
| Home Runs Allowed | 52 | 39 |
| Errors | 37 | 45 |
| Fielding% | .976 | .969 |
Pitching Matchups: (will notate matchups once announced):
- TUESDAY– Texas RHP Charlie Hurley (2-0, 7.71) vs. UTA RHP Aaron Calhoun (0-3, 7.92)
UTA Offensive Leaders:
- Ryan Ellis (.319 avg, .858 OPS, 1 HR, 23 RBI, .420 SLG%, 28 BB, 24 K.438 OB%, 1-1 SB)
- Tyson Pointer (.313 avg, .856 OPS, 5 HR, 24 RBI, .469 SLG%, 16 BB, 41 K, .387 OB%, 3-3 SB)
- Parker Airhart (.291 avg, .955 OPS, 9 HR, 33 RBI, .560 SLG%, 21 BB, 41 K, .395 OB%)
UTA Bullpen Leaders:
- Joe Steeber (1-1, 2.12 ERA, 17 IP)
- Cade McGlade (0-0, 2.76 ERA, 16.1 IP)
- Jason Scrantom (0-1, 3.37 ERA, 10.2 IP)
- Nicholas Robb (2-2, 3.55 ERA, 25.1 IP)
- Jacob Hasty (1-1, 4.03 ERA, 22.1 IP)
- Aaron Calhoun (0-3, 7.92 ERA, 30.2 IP)
BIG 12 RECAP
- Baylor (18-20, 9-9): Bears lost the weekend series to Kansas at home after winning game one of the series
- Next Up: Bears host Sam Houston on Tuesday and then travel to West Virginia for a weekend series
- BYU (15-21, 6-15):Cougars got swept by Oklahoma in a series of high scoring affairs
- Next Up: Cougars host Utah on Tuesday and then travel to Oklahoma State for a Thu-Sat series
- Cincinnati (23-18, 9-9):Bearcats won the series against Houston, missing out on the sweep by losing Sunday
- Next Up: Bearcats travel to the state of Florida to take on UCF for a weekend series
- Houston (20-20, 6-15): Cougars lost the series to Cincinnati, winning on Sunday to avoid being swept
- Next Up: Cougars travel to #1 Texas A&M on Tuesday and then host UT-Arlington for a weekend non-conf series
- Kansas (21-15, 9-9):Jayhawks lost game one, but bounced back to win the series against Baylor in Waco
- Next Up: Jayhawks travel to face Nebraska on Tuesday and then host Texas Tech for a weekend series
- Kansas State (24-15, 9-9): Wildcats won a big series over Oklahoma State at home
- Next Up: Wildcats host Omaha on Tuesday and then travel to Fort Worth to take on TCU
- Oklahoma (24-14, 14-4):Sooners do what they do against the Big 12, sweep, this time against BYU
- Next Up: Sooners host Wichita State on Tuesday and then host Texas for a massive Big 12 series
- Oklahoma State (26-14, 11-7): Cowboys lost a tough series to Kansas State, winning on Sunday to avoid being swept
- Next Up: Cowboys travel to Oral Roberts on Tuesday and then host BYU for a Thu-Sat series
- TCU (23-15, 8-13): Frogs shut out the Horns in game one, but lost the next two and series to the Horns
- Next Up: Frogs host Dallas Baptist on Tuesday and then host a tough Kansas State squad this weekend
- Texas (24-17, 11-7):Horns followed the blueprint, losing on Friday and then bouncing back to win the series
- Next Up: Horns host UT-Arlington on Tuesday and then travel to Norman for a massive series against Oklahoma
- Texas Tech (29-13, 12-9):Red Raiders bounced back from a tough week by sweeping a hot West Virginia team
- Next Up: Red Raiders host New Mexico on Tuesday and then travel to Lawrence to take on Kansas
- UCF (24-13, 8-10):Knights stepped out of conference to take on Central Michigan, winning 2 of 3 in convincing fashion, after losing the first one
- Next Up: Knights host Florida Gulf Coast on Tuesday and then host Cincinnati for a weekend series
- West Virginia (23-16, 11-7): Mountaineers got swept by the Red Raiders in Lubbock, snapping a hot streak in Big 12 play
- Next Up: Mountaineers travel to Penn State on Wednesday and then host Baylor for a weekend series
BIG 12 CONFERENCE STANDINGS (conference record)
- Oklahoma (14-4)
- Oklahoma State (11-7)
- West Virginia (11-7)
- Texas (11-7)
- Texas Tech (12-9)
- Kansas State (9-9)
- Kansas (9-9)
- Cincinnati (9-9)
- Baylor (9-9)
- UCF (8-10)
- TCU (8-13)
- Houston (6-15)
- BYU (6-15)
BIG 12 RPI / SOS
- Oklahoma (22 / 10)
- Oklahoma State ( 25 / 30)
- UCF (27 / 25)
- Texas Tech (28 / 51)
- West Virginia (33 / 34)
- Kansas State (34 / 31)
- TCU (41 / 43)
- Texas (72 / 44)
- Kansas (87 / 83)
- Cincinnati (87 / 91)
- Houston (99 / 54)
- Baylor (121 / 62)
- BYU (133 / 72)
Horns RPI remains an issue when looking ahead at potential post season play.
Horns do still have the remaining RPI teams to play: Oklahoma (22), Oklahoma State (25), UCF (27), Kansas (87)
TOP 25 RANKINGS
Reminder
As a reminder, the Longhorns are winding down the NIL fiscal year for baseball and the Longhorns are going to drastically ramp up funding efforts for Texas Baseball as it enters the SEC in 2025.
A monthly donation of $20-$100 a month makes a big difference in baseball. This is not football that has massive contracts and full scholarships for all the players. If you currently support a different sport through Texas One Fund, consider adding even $5-$10 for baseball.
If you have any questions, reach out to @AgaveHorn
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